AutoCAD drawings come in 2 formats: DWG - proprietary binary format, and DXF - an exchange plain text format. All [decent] AutoCAD packages open and save drawings in these formats. Most AutoCAD packages are ludicrously expensive, especially for those who seldom translate drawings.
The client normally sends out DWG which must be exported to DXF to make the text accessible to the extraction tool. Any attempts to get a DXF file from any client nearly always result in nothing, I don't know why.
A Russian developer offers a modular AutoCAD package called NanoCAD which is available here - http://nanocad.com/ - it looks like they finally localized it into English. The basic module is freeware, and it can open and save DWG and DXF files. So, you have a free conversion tool which allows you to export DWG drawings as DXF text files and perform a reverse conversion.
CafeTran comes with a filter for DXF files. So all you need is a tool to convert DWG files to the DXF format. You have several options:
NanoCAD
- Use this link to download nanoCAD 5.0: http://nanocad.com/action/pad_download
- Use this link to download nanoCAD Plus 7 Beta: http://nanocad.com/page/Betatester
You prefer a print out of the drawing that you have to translate? You can use NanoCAD to create a PDF: PDF version created with NanoCAD
AnyDWG
AnyDWG for Windows is another tool that will allow you to convert a DWG to DXF. It offers a free trial.
Teigha®
Teigha® File Converter is a free cross-platform application provided by the ODA to end users only for the conversion of .dwg and .dxf files to/from different versions.
Download: Teigha® File Converter
This image shows the Mac version of Teigha®:
Creating an AutoCAD project in CafeTran
- Create a new CafeTran translation project.
- Select the AutoCAD (*.dxf) file type.
- Import the DXF file in CafeTran:
